It’s September, and I’m already running a day late with my posting. The good news is that I’m not falling behind on my TBR. Turns out you can read books without telling people about it, but where’s the fun in that? Now, this is usually the part of the post where I waffle on about the time of year, but I’m going to take the opportunity this month to do a little self-justification.

On twitter the other day, the conversation came up about why people make these TBR posts. After all, if you’re going to review a book you don’t need to say you’re going to, you just need to review the book as and when you want to. Most people don’t actually care about your reading schedule, so why bother tell people what it is?

Speaking for myself, I make these posts because it’s a nice way of making a statement of principle for the month ahead. It’s a commitment of sorts that gives the month a bit of structure. A clear break from what has gone before, and a promise to myself about what will happen in the coming month. Sometimes I break that promise, but hey-ho. They’re only books. Speaking of which, let’s take a look at what’s on my TBR this month.

TBR

I have seventeen books in my TBR. Some of those are short, but it’s still highly unlikely I’ll read them all this month. But I am going to get to most of them. The only ones I have definitely written off are the Avatar duology by S. D. Perry, as I don’t intend to read four DS9 books in a single month.

On the Warhammer front, I have a pair of debuts. Longshot, by Rob Young is my current read, and it is very good so far, with a decent chance I finish it today. A somewhat longer book is the latest Warhammer Crime novel The King of the Spoil, by Jonathan D Beer, which will hopefully be another strong entry in my favourite corner of the grim dark future.

I’ve also ended up with a lot of short stories to read this month, with a Mike Ashley-edited anthology in The Mammoth Book of Mindblowing SF, which I’m hoping is better than the last Mammoth SF book I read, and a pair of solo author collections in the form of of Stephen Baxter’s Phase Space and Greg bear’s Tangents. The latter holds a lot of interest for me as it’s the first of Bear’s original works I’ll have read after enjoying his Halo and Foundation works.

I then have some scattershot SF reading in the form of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, Quarantine, by Greg Egan (the second Hard SF Greg of the year) and a book that seems to be winning praise from all corners, Nicholas Binge’s Ascension. Each of these looks very different to a lot of what I’ve been reading lately, and should spice up my reading nicely.

However, I have no intention of leaving behind my love of space opera this month, and to that end will be taking part in Space Opera September, as organised by Rachel at TheShadesofOrange booktube channel. This is a four part challenge for the whole month which consists of a lot of open challenges. I’ve chosen the following options.

Stage One: Decide your route of travel: Warp Drive: I’ll be reading at least four space opera books this month. I have plenty of options in this regard, so it should come easily enough.

Stage Two: Select your mission: Colonise. I’ll be reading a self-published book this month. Well, technically listening to one, as I carry on with N.C. Scrimgeour’s Wayfarers trilogy.

Stage Three: Survive an unplanned event: Stowaway steals your ship: I’ll be reading a book from a franchise. two of them, actually, as I continue to devour Deep Space Nine fiction.

Stage Four: Pick your epilogue: Retire: I’ve got one series finale in my TBR, and it’s the climax of the latest stage of The Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell. Since it looks like he has some books in a new setting coming up from next year, this could really be the last we see of John Geary for a while.

& BEYOND

Once again I have two articles planned for the month. The first is, as you may suspect, the next stage of Empires of Science Fiction, though this is the one I have the most meat for, so it might take me a while to get ready. The other article will take a little else time, and will be a selection of what some might term ‘bookish hot takes.’ These are things about books that have been bugging me for a while and need to get off my chest.

I should also have my review of Season Two of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds out this month. I’m currently halfway through the series and thoroughly enjoying it. There’s a good chance I get to some more sci-fi TV before the month is out, though I’m not sure what show yet. Oh, and if you’re not watching Schmigadoon, you are missing out. It’s not sci fi at all, but it is one of the most underrated shows on TV right now.

RELEASE SCHEDULE

9th – Warhammer 40,000: The Rose in Darkness, by Danie Ware – I’ve missed the pre-order for this, but will be keeping an eye out next time I’m in town. As a fan of the Sister Augusta short stories and novellas, I’m excited to see how Ware tackles a full length novel featuring the characters.

21st – Creation Node, by Stephen Baxter – Despite a few bumps along the way, I’ve definitely become a Baxter convert this year. Since his strongest works are also standalones, I’m eager to see how he blows my brain wide open this time around.

Black Library/ Warhammer 40,000 Pre-Orders

Genefather, by Guy Haley – A meeting between Belisarius Cawl and Fabius Bile will surely have a lot of lore fans drooling from the mouth. I’m not quite that enthusiastic, but it does sound like an interesting meeting of the minds.

The Fall of Cadia, by Robert Rath – Following swiftly on the heels of the limited edition, this suitably thick regular hardback takes us back to the final days of Cadia. These have been seen in a few other stories, but this is where we’ll get the full story of Ursarkar E. Creed’s last stand.

Creed: Ashes of Cadia, by Jude Reid – Reid’s first Warhammer novel is another instalment in the Cadian canon, and will apparently show us what remains of the planet after the Fall.